ʾhlmn'

Middle Persian

FWOTD – 2 August 2014

Alternative forms

• ʾhlymn' (/⁠Ahreman⁠/) — Book Pahlavi
• 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (ʾḥlmny /⁠Ahreman⁠/) — Inscriptional Pahlavi
• 𐫀𐫍𐫡𐫖𐫗 (ʾhrmn /⁠Ahreman⁠/) — Manichaean
• 𐬁𐬵𐬭𐬆𐬨𐬀𐬥 (Āhrəman) — Pazend

Etymology

From Avestan 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 (aŋra.maⁱniiu, “Angra Mainyu”). Compare Old Armenian Արհմն (Arhmn), an Iranian borrowing.

Proper noun

ʾhlmn' in Book Pahlavi, written upside down.

ʾhlmn' • (/Ahreman/)

1. (Book Pahlavi, Zoroastrianism) Ahriman, Angra Mainyu, the Evil Spirit
   • Bundahišn, codex DH 1970: 1

     ʾhlmn' BYN tʾlykyh PWN AHLdʾnšnyh Wztʾlkʾmkyh zwplpʾdk YHWWNt'

     Ahreman andar tārīgīh pad pas-dānišnīh ud-zadār-kāmagīh zufr-pāyag būd.

     Ahrimen was in darkness in backward knowledge and desire to destroy in the depth.

Usage notes

In Book Pahlavi, the word is traditionally always written upside down.

Antonyms

• ʾwhrmẕd (/⁠Ohrmazd⁠/)

Descendants

• Persian: اهریمن (Ahriman)

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “Ahreman”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 7